Pages

Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Ross Yates head coaching era begins on Friday night
at Harbour Station as the Sea Dogs host the Moncton Wildcats. Game time is
7:30pm.

Saint John, 5-10-0-2, will be looking to end their
eight-game losing streak. Despite what those who just look at the scores may
think, the Sea Dogs actually haven’t played that terribly during this losing
skid. Their past four games have all been decided by a goal with the latest,
Sunday’s 3-2 loss in Chicoutimi, coming in a shootout.

Moncton has a record of 7-11-0-1 entering play this
weekend.

According to a Sea Dogs press release, “four fans will be
selected randomly for our 'Shoot to Win' competition in the first
intermission. The two best shooters will qualify for a chance to shoot for a
BRAND NEW CAR, courtesy of Downey Ford, on November 27th!

“The Sea Dogs Foundation will raffle off a #22 Keven
Charland Sea Dogs alumni jersey worn during the Wallace McCain Memorial Alumni
Weekend. Wallace McCain Alumni golf shirts will also be raffled. Tickets are $5
each, three for $10, or ten for $20. Proceeds will be donated to the MOvember
campaign.

“A secondary 50/50 prize of $500 will be given away.”

So that’s all cool.

SATURDAY

On Saturday, the Sea Dogs host the Charlottetown
Islanders. The Isles sit second in the Maritimes Division with a 10-5-0-1
record but do have a better winning percentage than the division-leading
Halifax Mooseheads.

According to the Sea Dogs release,” It's Support Our
Troops Night at Harbour Station!

“Members of Canadian Forces from CFB Gagetown will take
part in a special pregame ceremony to pay tribute to fallen Canadian soldiers
and all members of this country's military.

In addition to the money raised through donations, the
Sea Dogs will also be making a donation to the campaign that will increase with
rising attendance numbers.

If the Sea Dogs average 3,800 fans during the seven home
games in November, the team will donate $5,000. If the average hits five
thousand fans per game, the team will donate $15,000. If it reaches six
thousand fans, the team will donate $30,000.

In addition, the Sea Dogs will donate $10,000 for any
game which is sold out.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Sea Dogs announced this afternoon that Ross Yates has
been named the club’s new head coach.

Yates, who has been an assistant coach with the team
since the 2012-13 season, takes over for Mike Kelly who was fired yesterday.
Terms of the Yates’ contract were not disclosed.

Yates spent 10 years with the American Hockey League’s
Syracuse Crunch – including four as head coach – prior to joining the Sea Dogs.
He has also coached in Europe. Last season Yates served as Sea Dogs head coach
for several games when Kelly was away on scouting adventures.

"We are very pleased to have Ross Yates as our
coach," said Sea Dogs' President Wayne Long in a release. "He has an
impressive coaching background in Europe and the American League, and he was
brought here because of his extensive experience."

Not a huge surprise to see the Sea Dogs promote from
within for this role. There’s not exactly a ton of coaches on the free agent
market in October like there often are in the off-season.

It was also announced today that Yates and head scout
Christian Vermette have been named co-general managers.

Vermette, in his fourth season as head scout, is a former
assistant coach with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies who joined the Sea Dogs'
scouting staff in 2005. He also coached the Levis Commandeurs in Quebec Midget
AAA Hockey League.

According
to the Sea Dogs there is no "interim tag" of having Yates as
head coach & co-GM with Vermette. #QMJHL
—
Sunaya Sapurji (@sunayas) October
30, 2013

Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino was on The Pipeline Show last
night and discussed the firing of Mike Kelly.

Cosentino explained that he was surprised by the news and
didn’t have any guesses on who would be brought in to replace him. Cosentino did say
he would not be surprised if it was a younger, inexperienced guy to work with
this young team, which would not be surprising.

TVA Sports' Louis Jean tweets that Gerard Gallant is not
leaving the Montreal Canadiens to return to Saint John. Shocker.

TVA Sports’ Mikael Lalancette tweets that he would not be
surprised if Ross Yates was given the Sea Dogs head coaching job.

Sea Dogs president Wayne Long told News 88.9 that the
firing is about more than the Sea Dogs’ recent losing streak.
“The team obviously has lost eight in a row but it’s not about the wins and
losses”, said Long. “We know we’re developing, we know we’re rebuilding but
sometimes you need to make change for the sake of making change”.

With Mike Kelly out as Head Coach and Director of Hockey
Operations, the questions now looms as to who takes over behind the Saint John
Sea Dogs bench.

The team has made it clear it will separate the roles of
coach and general manager – at least for now – and the coach will obviously be
hired first.

The position is an intriguing one as the Dogs have a good
core of young players that need to be developed, the looming bid for the 2017
Memorial Cup, one of the best arenas as well as facilities in the Quebec Major
Junior Hockey League and a recent history of winning.

One name that immediately comes to mind to fill the
vacancy is former Drummondville Voltigeurs and Tampa Bay Lightning head coach
Guy Boucher. He comes with an established track record having won a QMJHL
championship and took the Lightning to within a game of the Stanley Cup Finals
in 2011 as well as a coaching philosophy and system.

Boucher is a known quantity and familiar to the Sea Dogs
brass as he was interviewed by the team for its head coaching position prior to
the 2006-07 season. The job ultimately went to Jacques Beaulieu.

If Boucher is willing, he would be a prime candidate as
he brings both the star quality of having coached in the NHL and a thorough
understanding of the major junior game (ie. development of young talent).

There are several other candidates the organization is no
doubt looking into with solid coaching backgrounds. Perhaps Moncton Wildcats
Vice-President of Hockey Operations Danny Flynn could be lured up to the Port
City to face off against the Wildcats.

Flynn, like Boucher, has a track record of success in
junior hockey, was an assistant coach in the NHL and was successful behind the
bench in the CIS. However, it should be noted that Flynn is still under
contract with Moncton and this would be a long shot.

Of course, the Sea Dogs could stay in house and promote
Ross Yates from assistant coach to bench boss. Yates was head coach of the
Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League for four years and has Maritime
roots having played in his university days at Mount Allison, his time at Mt. A
overlapped with that of Sea Dogs majority owner Scott McCain who earned a
Bachelor of Commerce degree from the school in 1979.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

SAINT JOHN - The Sea Dogs have "parted ways" with head coach and general manager Mike Kelly.

Here is the full press release from the team:

The Saint John Sea Dogs have announced that they have
parted ways with Mike Kelly.

Kelly had been the head coach and general manager of the
Sea Dogs since the summer of 2012. Before that, he was the team's associate
coach and director of hockey operations for three seasons beginning in 2009.

"Mike Kelly is a man of integrity, and decisions
like these are never easy," said Sea Dogs' President Wayne Long. "It
is our duty to do what we feel is in the best interest of our team. We will
always be grateful and appreciative of what Mike has done for the Sea Dogs'
organization."

The Sea Dogs expect to name a new head coach in the
coming days.

So this was certainly unexpected.

Hard to imagine this is based solely on the Sea Dogs
start to the year. They are playing pretty much like they were expected to in
year two of this rebuild. Bizarre move.

SAINT JOHN – Sea Dogs goaltender Sebastien Auger has been
named to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s roster for the upcoming Subway
Super Series.

Auger was, not surprisingly, the only Sea Dog invited to
the event. He’ll join Halifax’s Zach Fucule as the team’s goaltending tandem
for the series which will feature the QMJHL’s best Canadians who are eligible
for the world junior team taking on a Russian squad.

Auger, 19, is 3-9-0-2 this season with a 2.63 goals
against average and a 0.926 save percentage. His GAA ranks fourth in the
league, his save percentage is second, and leads the league in saves with 465.
He is also fourth in minutes played having started 14 of Saint John’s 17 games.

This is Auger’s third season in the QMJHL. He was a
fifth-round pick of Saint John in 2010. This will be his first Super Series.

The QMJHL portion of the Super Series takes place on
Monday, November 18th in Gatineau and Wednesday, November 20th
in Sherbrooke. The games will be broadcast on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

CHICOUTIMI, Que. – Mackenzie Brown left last night’s game
and did not return after taking this hit from Chicoutimi’s Jeremy Carignan in
the first period.

Get your tickets now to see Sugar Sammy.

Carignan received a five-minute major and game misconduct
for checking to the head. Unfortunately, Saint John was unable to cash in on
the man advantage.

Some other stuff from last night’s game…

The Sea Dogs were down 2-1 entering the final minute of
the game but Oliver Cooper scored after a Stephen Anderson shot produced a
rebound. This happened with Sebastien Auger on the bench and 44 seconds
remaining. Clutch.

Nathan Noel was the only Sea Dog to score in the
shootout. He now has two shootout goals in three attempts this year.

Chicoutimi has 10 wins this season with four of them
coming in overtime and one in a shootout.

If you haven’t heard, the Sea Dogs have now lost eight
straight (0-7-0-1) games. They went 0-2-0-1 on this Quebec road trip with all
three loses being one-goal games. There are certainly some positives to take
away from this trip.

Sebastien Sylvestre was in beast mode for the Sags,
getting a handful of really good scoring chances. He finished the game with a
goal, a shootout goal, and eight shots.

With Cooper scoring and Olivier LeBlanc picking up a goal
and an assist, Michael Abbott, LeBlanc, and Cooper all have 12 points on the
year to lead the team.

It was ‘Pink in the Rink’ night in Chicoutimi so the Sags
wore pink jerseys.

Was a bit surprising to see Sebastien Auger get the start
again with this being Saint John’s third road game in four days and second in
less than 24 hours. But it was a good call as Auger was very good in this game,
making 42 saves and earning second star honours.

This was the fifth time this season that Auger faced 40
or more shots in a game. He has an above .900 save percentage in all of those
games.

Saint John once again got a lot of shots on net (40) but
just couldn’t score a lot of goals. The Dogs are 4-6-0-2 when being out shot by
their opponent.

The Sea Dogs were without defensemen Michael Abbott
(upper body) and Will Thompson (upper body) along with forwards Noah Zilbert
(upper body) and Marcus Cuomo (hand). Goaltender Maxime Michaud was also scratched
once again.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

CHICOUTIMI, Que. – At least the Saint John Sea Dogs are
coming home with a point.

Even though their losing streak extended to eight games,
the Sea Dogs picked up a well-deserved point on Saturday in Chicoutimi with a 3-2
shootout loss to the Sagueneens.

The Dogs were down 2-1 entering the final minute of the
third but Oliver Cooper would tie it up with 44 seconds remaining. Although
they would lose the shootout, Saint John will at least be coming home with a point
for their strong efforts during this three-game Quebec road trip.

Olivier LeBlanc also scored for the Sea Dogs while Nathan
Noel had Saint John’s only shootout goal. Sebastien Auger was sensational as
usual, making 42 saves in the loss.

Chicoutimi had regulation time goals from Sebastien
Sylvestre and Janne Puhakka. Julio Billia made 38 saves in the win.

Well, the Sea Dogs have now lost seven straight games and
have a record of 5-10-0-1. They still have one more game on this Quebec road
trip to play before heading home for a three-game home stretch.

Meanwhile, Baie-Comeau has won six straight. They sit
second overall in the league and are closing in on the first-place
Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

Joey Richard had Saint John’s only goal. It was his third
of the season and first since his two goal game on October 6th in
Bathurst – Saint John’s last win.

Felix Girard received a checking to the head game misconduct
at the end of the second period for a hit on Noah Zilbert. Zilbert would be
okay. The Sea Dogs got a long power play out of the penalty but could not score
or generate that many chances.

Alexander McQuaid received an instigator for his fight
against Gabriel Verpaelst in the second period. It was McQuaid’s second fight
of the regular season.

Jason Cameron made a big time shot block in the final
seconds of the first period. He was helped to the bench by Sea Dogs athletic
therapist JP Laciak and limped to the dressing room. He would return for the
second period.

Matthew Highmore’s assist on Richard’s goal was his first
point since October 16th.

Sebastien Auger, man. The netminder made 30 saves and was
named first start in this game. He did an unreal job and gave the Dogs a good
chance to win. Auger has made 30 or more saves in 11 of his 13 starts this
season.

It was 'Pink in the Rink' night in Baie-Comeau so the
Drakkar wore pink jerseys.

Friday, October 25, 2013

The Saint John Sea Dogs produced yet another solid road
performance but came away with nothing to show for it. The Sea Dogs lost their seventh
straight Quebec Major Junior Hockey League contest on Friday night in
Baie-Comeau, losing 2-1 to the Drakkar.

Rookie Joey Richard had Saint John’s only goal.
Goaltender Sebastien Auger was Sebastien Auger, giving the Sea Dogs a good
chance to win this game thanks to a 30 save, first star performance.

But much like on Wednesday in Drummondville - and despite
being outshot - the Sea Dogs played a solid road game against a good team. The effort is there – unfortunately
the wins just aren't coming right now.

The Drakkar had goals from Alec Jon Banville and Gabryel
Boudreau. Philippe Cadorette made 22 saves in the win.

The Sea Dogs and Drakkar are heading in opposite
directions at the moment. While Saint John dropped their seventh straight,
Baie-Comeau picked up their sixth consecutive victory.

Saint John, now 5-10-0-1 on the year, continues their
three-game Quebec road trip tomorrow in Chicoutimi.

The Saint John Sea Dogs continue their Quebec road trip
this evening in Baie-Comeau with an 8:30pm date with the Drakkar. The Sea Dogs
have lost six straight while the Drakkar have won their last five.

The Sea Dogs enter play this evening with a 5-9-0-1
record which is good for sixth in the Telus Maritimes Division and 16th
overall. Saint John is coming off a hard fought 4-3 loss in Drummondville on
Wednesday which kicked off a three-in-four road swing.

Despite being outshot by a fairly large margin on
Wednesday, the Sea Dogs did manage to score three goals. Goals have been hard
to come by for Saint John of late so that was good to see.

Michael Abbott leads Saint John in scoring with five
goals and seven assists for 12 points. Rookie Nathan Noel, who had a goal and
an assist on Wednesday, leads the team in goals with six.

Meanwhile, the Drakkar enter the play tonight with a
10-4-0-2 record. They sit first in the Telus East Division, second overall in
the league, and are ranked ninth in the latest BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10
Rankings.

Unlike Saint John, Baie-Comeau hasn’t had many problems
scoring goals this year and have scored a league high 72. The Drakkar, who lost
to the Halifax Mooseheads in the 2013 President Cup final, have plenty of
veterans in their lineup and they are expected to be one of the league’s top
teams again this year.

Jeremy Gregoire leads the Drakkar in scoring with 12 goals
and 10 assists in 13 games for 22 points.

So Saint John has now lost six straight games. They still
have two more games in Quebec before returning home. The longest losing streak
in the league this season is 11 by the Shawinigan Cataractes.

Nathan Noel opened the scoring with his sixth of the
season. It was his first goal since October 6th which is also the
last time Saint John won a game. Noel had a solid match and was named second
star.

Noel and Oliver Cooper each had a goal and an assist.

Cooper, who has 11 points this season, scored his first
goal since September 15th.

Spencer Smallman picked up an assist on Noel’s goal,
giving him points in three straight games. Smallman has seven points in 15
games this year. He had six in 42 games last season.

Drummondville’s Jerome Verrier is having a pretty good
year. He has 13 goals in 15 games which is second most in the QMJHL.

The Volts entered the game with the league’s best power
play and went 2-for-4 on the man advantage last night. They scored the game
winning at 17:24 of the third period with Jurij Repe in the box.

Olivier Caouette scored a shorthanded goal at 16:41 of
the first. It was the second shorthanded goal the Sea Dogs have allowed this
season.

The Sea Dogs were outshot 42-23 but scored more than two
goals in a game for the first time since October 6th. Four of Saint
John’s five wins have come when they have been outshot.

Saint John is 2-4-0-1 when scoring first.

The Sea Dogs are now 5-9-0-1 on the year and remain sixth
in the Maritimes Division and 16th overall. They are just one point
ahead of the 17th-place Sherbrooke Phoenix.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. – A late power play goal by
Christophe Lalancette gave the Drummondville Voltigeurs a 4-3 win over the
Saint John Sea Dogs on Wednesday night at the Marcel Dionne Centre.

With Jurij Repe serving a high sticking penalty, the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s best power play unit went to work in a 3-3
game late in the third. At 17:24, Lalancette connected to give Drummondville a
4-3 lead. They would hang on for the win.

Lalancette, Mitch Graham, Jerome Verrier, and Olivier
Caouette had goals for Drummondville. Louis-Philip Guindon made 19 saves for
the victory in net.

Despite being outshot by a significant margin, the Sea
Dogs put in a pretty solid effort in this game. They managed to get their
offense going a bit more, scoring more than two goals in a game for the first
time since early October. This was certainly a respectable road performance.

The Sea Dogs have announced that 17-year old Slovakian
forward Juraj Siska, the 9th overall pick in this past summer’s CHL
Import Draft, has returned home to continue rehabbing his neck and back.

From the Sea Dogs press release:

"Juraj spent the last three weeks practicing and
training with the team," said Sea Dogs' Head Coach and General Manager
Mike Kelly. "While he has worked very hard over that period, he is still a
long way from being fit enough to play at this level. He has enjoyed his time here but he needs to
go back home and follow up on some procedures that he hopes will speed up his
recovery so that he can be ready to play at a high level."

"He will return to Nitra, Slovakia, where he will
continue to receive treatment and we will be in close contact with him and his
agent so that we can monitor his progress.
We are obviously disappointed that Juraj cannot join us at this point,
but we will not put a player into the lineup if we believe he runs the risk of
further injury."

So there’s that.

Siska played last season with HC Nitra in Slovakia’s
Under-20 league. He registered a point-per-game in 27 contests, scoring 12
goals and adding 15 assists. He has received mixed reviews from scouts but was
listed as a “C skater” by Central Scouting for the 2014 NHL Draft.

The Sea Dogs are in Drummondville to take on the
Voltigeurs at 8pm this evening. Saint John has not played at the Marcel Dionne Centre in
almost a year.

By now you probably know of Saint John’s recent woes.
They have lost five straight and, despite playing some okay games, have scored
just five goals during that span. The Dogs have the second worst offense in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Saint John enters action tonight with a 5-8-0-1 record
and sit last in the Telus Maritimes Division and 16th overall. Michael Abbott leads Saint John in scoring with four
goals and seven assists for 11 points. Olivier LeBlanc and Oliver Cooper each
have nine points.

The Volts head into tonight’s contest with a 7-6-0-1
record and sit fifth in the Telus West Division and 12th overall. They
have lost two straight games and are 4-5-0-1 in their last 10.

Former Acadie-Bathurst Titan forward Christophe
Lalancette leads Drummondville in scoring with three goals and 13 assists for
16 points. Drummondville also features the likes of Nikolas Brouillard,
Guillaume Gauthier, and Jerome Verrier.

The Volts also have American rookie Cam Askew who was a
first-round pick in June’s draft. He has two goals and three assists in 13
games this season.

This game kicks off a three games in four days road trip
for the Dogs. They are also in Baie-Comeau on Friday and Chicoutimi on
Saturday.

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. – The Sea Dogs announced this morning
that they have called up goaltender Maxime Michaud for the team’s Quebec road
trip.

According to a Sea Dogs press release, Michaud will
replace Antoine Landry who is away from the team for personal reasons.

Michaud played 30 minutes for the Sea Dogs in a
pre-season game, allowing four goals on 29 shots. He was also Saint John’s
backup in their second game of the season when Sebastien Auger was hurt.

In 14 games with the Louis J. Robichaud Patriotes high
school hockey team last season, Michaud had a record of 11-2,
with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage.

The Sea Dogs begin a three-in-four road trip this evening
in Drummondville against the Voltigeurs. Auger has started the past five games
and Landry would have presumably gotten one start on this road trip. What
happens now? Well we’re going to find out over the next few days.

Saint John also plays in Baie-Comeau on Friday and in
Chicoutimi on Saturday.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Saint John Sea Dogs have lost five straight and have
scored just five goals over that span.

But the good news is that Saint John hasn’t played as
poorly as a quick look at the scoreboard may tell you. With the exception of
the game in Halifax where Saint John looked flat, the Sea Dogs have played
some decent hockey during their losing skid.

As the table below shows, they are getting shots and some
quality scoring chances (DS = dangerous shots). They just aren’t going in right
now.

Opponent

GF

Shots

DS

PP

Oct. 12 at Halifax

0

21

8

0/6

Oct. 13 vs Charlottetown

1

39

17

1/6

Oct. 16 vs Moncton

1

39

24

0/3

Oct. 19 vs Quebec

2

38

14

1/7

Oct. 20 vs Chicoutimi

1

34

17

1/7

Total

5

171

80

3/29

The Sea Dogs currently have the second worst goals per
game average in the league (2.33) but are eighth in shots per game average
(31.55). Matthew Highmore sits fourth in the league in total shots (66) and
sixth in dangerous shots (37) while Stephen Anderson sits sixth (63) and second
(45).

This young Saint John team was expected to have their ups
and downs offensively this season. But things aren’t looking completely down
right now and hopefully the Sea Dogs will start being rewarded for some of their efforts like they were earlier in the season.

Some other stuff:

The Sea Dogs take their losing streak into Quebec for a
three-in-four road trip this week. They are in Drummondville on Wednesday, Baie-Comeau on
Friday, and Chicoutimi on Saturday.

Speaking of Noel, his assist on Spencer Smallman’s first
period goal was his first point since October 6th – which also happens
to be the last time Saint John won a game.

Smallman’s goal gave him goals in back-to-back games
after also scoring in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Quebec Remparts. He now has four
goals and two assists for six points on the year, matching his point total from
last year.

Matthew Highmore had eight shots in this game. He sits
fourth in the league in shots with 66.

The Sea Dogs have now lost five straight and are 3-7 in
their last 10. They have fallen to 5-8-0-1 on the year and sit last in
the Maritimes Division and 16th overall. They are only one point
ahead of the 17th place Sherbrooke Phoenix who have played one more
game than Saint John.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

SAINT JOHN – It’s not too often you see two of the top
16-year old rookies in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League dropping the
gloves for a fight against each other. But that is what happened on Sunday afternoon at Harbour
Station.

Nicolas Roy, the first overall pick in the 2013 QMJHL
Entry Draft, and Nathan Noel, the third overall choice, squared off for a fight
in the second period of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens’ 2-1 win over the Saint John
Sea Dogs.

SAINT JOHN – The goals just aren’t coming for the Saint
John Sea Dogs right now.

Despite getting 34 shots on net, outshooting the
Chicoutimi Sagueneens, and being awarded seven power play opportunities, the
Sea Dogs could score just once in a 2-1 loss to the Sags in front of a small
Sunday afternoon crowd at Harbour Station.

The Sea Dogs have now lost five straight games heading
into this week’s Quebec road trip. Over those five games Saint John has scored
just five goals.

The Dogs fell to 5-8-0-1 with the loss and remain in the
Maritimes Division basement and 16th overall in the Quebec Major
Junior Hockey League.

Spencer Smallman, who also scored in Saturday’s 5-2 loss
to the Quebec Remparts, had Saint John’s only goal. Sebastien Auger made 31
saves in the loss.

Chicoutimi had goals from Laurent Dauphin and Jeremy
Bouchard. Julio Billia made 33 saves in the win.

SAINT JOHN – Two of the top picks in the 2013 Quebec
Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft battle this afternoon at Harbour
Station.

For the first time this year, Nathan Noel and the Saint
John Sea Dogs host Nicholas Roy and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Noel was
selected third overall by Saint John while Roy was picked first overall by the
Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and later traded to Chicoutimi.

Both rookie forwards are off to respectable starts. Noel
has five goals and two assists in 13 games while Roy has two goals and five
assists in 15 matches.

Noel, like most Sea Dogs players, has struggled to put up
points during Saint John’s current four-game losing skid. The streak has
dropped Saint John to 5-7-0-1 on the season and into the basement of the Telus
Maritimes Division and 16th overall.

The Sags enter play today with a 7-8-0-0 record and sit
fifth in the tough Telus East Division and 12th overall. This will
be Chicoutimi’s third game in as many days after playing in Bathurst on Friday
and in Charlottetown last night.

SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs’ losing streak has
hit four games.

The Sea Dogs dropped their fourth consecutive Quebec
Major Junior Hockey League game on Saturday night at Harbour Station, falling
5-2 to the Quebec Remparts.

It was more of the same issues for the Sea Dogs – they got
plenty of shots, some quality scoring chances, but just could not capitalize
enough. During this losing skid the Sea Dogs have scored just four goals. This
game was the first time Saint John has scored more than one goal in a game since October
6th.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

SAINT JOHN – Things were going pretty well for the Saint
John Sea Dogs just a couple weeks ago.

But a three-game losing streak and a struggling offense has
since dropped the Sea Dogs below the .500 mark with a 5-6-0-1 record. They
currently sit last in the Telus Maritimes Division and 16th overall
in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The Sea Dogs will look to get back in the win column –
and the .500 mark – tonight at Harbour Station against the Quebec Remparts.
Game time for Saint John’s annual ‘Pink in the Rink’ in support of the Canadian
Breast Cancer Foundation is 7pm.

Saint John’s struggling offense has been the big story in
Sea Dogs land over the past week. In their last three games they have scored a
total of just two goals. That’s just not going to get it done in this league.
The last time they scored more than one goal in a game was back on October 6th
in a 5-4 shootout win in Bathurst.

The Sea Dogs have scored 30 goals this season, the second
lowest total in the league. Their average of 2.47 goals per game is also the
second lowest in the Q.

The good news though is that Saint John is still
generating some quality scoring chances – they just haven’t been able to capitalize
on them in the past couple games. Hopefully the goals start coming soon.

The Patrick Roy-less Quebec Remparts got off to a rough
start this season but are beginning to climb back in the standings. Following a
3-0 win in Moncton last night, the Remparts sit 13th overall with a 5-5-3-0
record. They are also 3-3-2-0 on the road.

Anthony Duclair, Fabrice Herzog, and Adam Erne each have
12 points to lead the team. Duclair and Herzog each have a team high eight
goals.

According to TVA Sports, highly touted rookie goaltender
Callum Booth is expected to start for the Remparts today. He is 0-3 with a 3.43
GAA and 0.894 SV% but has not appeared in a game since September 28th.
He was a third-round pick of the Remparts in June’s draft.

SAINT JOHN – Via the official Twitter of official Sea
Dogs equipment manager David Kelly, here are Saint John’s official jerseys for
today’s ‘Pink in the Rink’ game at the official Harbour Station.

Very nice as always.

Every Sea Dogs player will be wearing a pink jersey
today. They will be raffled off during the game and can be picked up at ice
level following the match. Full details are available on the Sea Dogs website.

Plenty of tickets are still available for today's game against the Quebec Remparts. Please come so we
can stop whining about the attendance.

Friday, October 18, 2013

FREDERICTON – A reminder that tomorrow night’s Saint John
Sea Dogs game against the Quebec Remparts is the annual ‘Pink in the Rink’
Night in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

The Sea Dogs will be wearing pink jerseys as usual and
they will be raffled off. From the team release:

All Sea Dogs' players will be wearing special, limited
edition pink jerseys during the game. Volunteers will sell raffle tickets
throughout Harbour Station until the end of the second period.

Tickets prices are:

$5 = 1 ticket
$10 = 3 tickets
$20 = 10 tickets

One ticket will be drawn for each pink jersey. Winning
raffle tickets will be announced during the third period. Fans with winning
tickets can claim their jerseys at ice level, directly from the player,
immediately following the game. Fans who win and do not claim their jerseys
following the game will have until November 1 to do so at the Sea Dogs' office
on the second floor of Harbour Station.

A jersey for Saint John Sea Dogs' mascot, Fleaburn, and a
#13 jersey autographed by all Sea Dogs' players, will be auctioned off to the
highest bidders following the game at a live auction near Section S on the main
concourse level.

All proceeds will be donated by the Sea Dogs Foundation
to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

The Sea Dogs, 5-6-0-1, will be looking to snap a
three-game losing streak against the Patrick Roy-less Remparts, 4-5-3-0, at 7pm at Harbour
Station. Quebec takes on the Wildcats in Moncton tonight.

On Sunday, it’s Mascot Day at Harbour Station as the Sea Dogs
host Nicholas Roy and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Game time for that one is 3pm.

There are four games on tonight’s schedule and is highlighted by
the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds hosting the St. Francis Xavier
X-Men tonight at 7pm at the Aitken Centre. UNB, who won both the 2013 AUS title
and CIS national championship, will have a banner raising ceremony before the
game.

The StFX-UNB game can be seen on Rogers TV (channel 10)
in New Brunswick.

There are two former Sea Dogs on the V-Reds this season:
Mike Thomas who had to “red-shirt” last season because of playing pro the year
before and Shea Kewin who transferred to UNB after playing four seasons at
Dalhousie University.

Here are the other former Sea Dogs playing in the AUS
ranks this season (according to rosters on team websites):

Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Wildcats opened the scoring at 9:31 of the first period
on a power play. Moncton improved to 5-0-0-0 when scoring first.

Saint John’s scoring troubles continued despite getting
close to 40 shots on goal (with many of them being quality chances). The Sea
Dogs could only get one of their 39 shots past Alex Dubeau in the 3-1 loss.
Saint John has scored two goals in their past three games combined.

Rothesay native and former Saint John Vito Mark Simpson
had a goal and an assist in this game. He was named first star.

Penalties were certainly an issue for the Sea Dogs last
night. They gave the Wildcats eight power play opportunities – including multiple
five-on-three chances. That’s just not good. Stephen Anderson had six penalty
minutes, Oliver Cooper four, and Jason Cameron four.

Speaking of Anderson, his stat line is a bit weird from
this game. Despite taking three minor penalties, he was a +1 and had seven
shots. Anderson could have easily had a couple goals in this game if not for
some good saves from Dubeau.

Kyle Haas and Lukas Walter dropped the gloves just a couple
minutes into the game. The two fought each other twice – or at least tried too –
in the pre-season.

The Sea Dogs are now below the .500 mark with a 5-6-0-1
record.

Moncton forward Ivan Barbashev left the game in the first
period and did not return. According to the Times & Transcript, the Russian
forward “caught his skate in a rut in the ice” and it is “initially thought to be
a minor injury.”

Another tiny crowd of 2,730 at this game. The Sea Dogs
are now averaging 2,864 fans per game after six home games. Saturday’s game,
which is ‘Pink in the Rink’ and features the Remparts, should tell us something
about the state of the Sea Dogs attendance.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

SAINT JOHN – The goal scoring woes continued for the
Saint John Sea Dogs on Wednesday night.

Despite firing 39 shots on net, the Sea Dogs could only
beat Alex Dubeau once in a 3-1 loss to the Moncton Wildcats in front of yet
another small crowd at Harbour Station.

The Sea Dogs have now lost three straight games and have
scored a total of two goals. But, on the bright side, it’s not like they are
not getting chances. Tonight’s game is a good example. Saint John had 39 shots
with 24 of those being listed as “dangerous shots” by the league. But the Dogs
are just a little bit off on offense right now – and have also run unto some
solid goaltending the past two games.

Penalties were a big problem in this one as they gave Moncton
eight power play opportunities. The Wildcats only scored once on the power play
but, y’know, being shorthanded so much ain’t going to help that struggling
offense.

Matthew Highmore scored Saint John’s only goal. The goal
came in an 18 shot third period that Saint John entered down 3-0. Sebastien
Auger made 21 saves in the loss.

Moncton goals came from JC Campagna, Mark Simpson, and
Stephen Johnson. Dubeau made 38 saves in the win.

The loss dropped Saint John to 5-6-0-1 while Moncton
improved to 6-8-0-0.

SAINT JOHN – Scoring goals was a problem for the Saint
John Sea Dogs this past weekend.

The Sea Dogs were shutout on Saturday night in Halifax
and then on Sunday afternoon were able to score just once despite registering
39 shots on Charlottetown Islanders goaltender Eric Brassard. Saint John’s
goals per game average fell to 2.60, the third lowest total in the Quebec Major
Junior Hockey League.

But this past weekend is the past. The Sea Dogs will look
to get their offense back on track this evening at 7pm at Harbour Station when
they host the Moncton Wildcats in the second game of the 2013-14 Brunswick News
Rivalry Cup.

The two provincial rivals have met just once so far this
season and that was way back on opening night in Moncton (September 13th).
The Sea Dogs won that game 5-3 thanks to a solid showing from rookie Antoine
Landry in net and goals from Noah Zilbert, Michael Abbott, Nathan Noel, Kelly
Bent, and Stephen Anderson.

Saint John is now 5-5-0-1 and sit fourth in the Maritimes
Division and 13th overall in the league. Despite not scoring a ton
of goals so far this year, the Sea Dogs have a goal differential of just -4. The
Dogs have also been pretty good on home ice and have a record of 3-1-0-1 at the
Station. They play at home tonight, Saturday, and Sunday.

The Wildcats meanwhile enter action tonight with a 5-8-0-0
record and sit fifth in the Maritimes Division and 15th overall. Moncton’s
schedule is a bit bizarre as they are in Saint John tonight after playing two
games in Quebec this past weekend – a 5-4 shootout win in Rimouski on Saturday
and a 4-2 loss in Quebec City on Sunday.

Moncton is led by NHL draft eligible Russian forward Ivan
Barbashev who has seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 13 games.
Christopher Caissy, playing in his first full QMJHL season, is second on the team in
points with 16.

The Wildcats goaltending has been pretty much what was
expected. Alex Dubeau is 5-7-0-0 with a 3.17 goals against average and a 0.887
save percentage.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Saint John Sea Dogs (5-5-0-1) host the Moncton Wildcats (5-8-0-0) on
Wednesday at 7pm at Harbour Station. It is the first meeting between the
two since the season opener way back on September 13th when the Dogs
edged the ‘Cats, 5-3, at the Moncton Coliseum.

Saint John is coming off back-to-back loses this past weekend
where they scored just one goal. So hopefully the Sea Dogs offense can get
something going tomorrow.

The Sea Dogs play three home games this week. They also
host the Quebec Remparts on Saturday night and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on
Sunday afternoon.

Some other stuff:

Saturday’s game against Quebec is ‘Pink in the Rink Night’
and Sunday’s game against Chicoutimi is ‘Mascot Night.’

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Steven Duda scored his first
OHL goal on Monday in North Bay’s 5-4 shootout win over Niagara. Duda has a
goal and three assists in 12 games with the Battalion.

Alex Grant currently leads the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals is scoring
with three goals and an assist for four points in four games. Meanwhile, Kevin
Gagne has three assists in four games with the Ads.

Monday, October 14, 2013

It looked like Saint John’s offensive woes from
Saturday’s game had carried over into Sunday’s game when the Sea Dogs were on a
four minute power play in the first. They had nothing going on until Olivier
LeBlanc fired a point shot on net that went past Eric Brassard to make it 1-0.

The Sea Dogs would only score one goal in this game but
had 39 shots on goal with plenty of quality chances. So that's good.

It was a good thing LeBlanc played in this game because
he was probably Saint John’s best player. He scored his third goal
of the season in the first period and had a team high eight shots.

Daniel Sprong is having a decent rookie season for the
Islanders. He scored his sixth goal of the year in just his 11th
game on Sunday. He now has 12 points in 11 games.

Islanders captain Jack Nevins continues to lead the team
in scoring with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 11 games. He had 15
points in 51 games with the PEI Rocket last season.

Charlottetown entered the game with the best power play
in the QMJHL but it certainly didn’t look like it. The Islanders went 0-for-5
on the man advantage and really couldn’t get much of anything going.

Olivier LeBlanc, Michael Abbott, and Stephen Anderson all
had an ‘A’ on their jerseys. The Sea Dogs announced after the game that the
trio will wear the letters for the next month as part of the team’s rotation.

Matthew Bursey Nation was out in full force. They dominated
section four.

Two fights in this one. Kelly Bent had an unreal fight against Zach Beaton while Bursey dropped the gloves with Samuel Dove-McFalls.
For Dove-McFalls, it was his first career QMJHL fight.

This was Saint John’s first regulation home loss of the
season. They are now 3-1-0-1 at Harbour Station. The Sea Dogs play their next
three games at home.

Saint John fell to 0-2-0-1 against Charlottetown this
season while the Islanders improved to 3-0-0-0 against Saint John.

Another small crowd of 2,722 at this game. The Dogs are
now averaging 2,891 fans per game in a building that seats nearly 6,300 people. After five home games last year the Sea Dogs
averaged 3,900 fans per game.

Before the game, goaltender Sebastien Auger was named the
Irving Player of the Month and Oliver Cooper was named the Canadian Tire
Student of the Month.

SAINT JOHN - Goals didn’t come easy for the Saint John
Sea Dogs this weekend.

After being shutout by the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday
night, the Sea Dogs were able to score just once in a 4-1 loss to the Charlottetown
Islanders on Sunday afternoon at Harbour Station.

Olivier LeBlanc was the only Sea Dog to score. It wasn’t
like the Sea Dogs didn’t have plenty of chances, though. They fired 39 shots on net and
had plenty of quality scoring opportunities but Islanders goaltender Eric Brassard posted a solid performance to backstop the Isles to a win.

SAINT JOHN – The Saint John Sea Dogs don’t have much time
to think about last night’s 3-0 loss in Halifax.

Less than 24 hours after being shutout at the Metro
Centre by the Halifax Mooseheads, the Sea Dogs are right back at it this
afternoon at Harbour Station against the Charlottetown Islanders. Game time is
3pm.

The Sea Dogs struggled to get anything going offensively
in last night’s loss. They fired juts 21 shots on Mooseheads backup goaltender
Kevin Darveau with only eight of them being considered “dangerous shots” by the
league. That’s just not going to get it done.

The loss dropped Saint John to 5-4-0-1 on the season. They
sit fourth overall in the Telus Maritimes Division with 10 points but are just
four points back of the division leading Islanders and one point ahead of the
basement dwelling Titan. This is quite the division this season.

The Sea Dogs have had a good time on home ice so far this
year. They are 3-0-0-1 at Harbour Station and have outscored opponents 12-7.
Today’s game kicks of a four game homestand for the Dogs.

Michael Abbott, who missed last night’s game with the
flu, leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with four goals and six assists for 10
points. Rookie Nathan Noel leads the squad in goals with five.

Meanwhile, the Islanders enter action today with a
7-2-0-1 record, good for first in the Maritimes and third overall in the Quebec
Major Junior Hockey League. Despite the solid record, the Isles have just a +3
goal differential having outscored opponents 39-36.

Jack Nevins leads Charlottetown in scoring with three
goals and 10 assists for 13 points. Rookie Daniel Sprong is second on the team
in scoring with 11 points.

This is the third meeting of the season between the Sea Dogs
and Islanders. Charlottetown has won both of those games but each were one goal
wins.

Lukas Walter picked up an instigator infraction and misconduct
and all that good stuff to send the Moose to a power play at 3:54 of the first. Ashley opened the
scoring at 7:44 with his first of the season.

Halifax doubled their lead at 13:51 thanks to a Meier
goal. The Moose outshot the Sea Dogs 12-7 in the first.

After a scoreless second, Ryan scored at 8:34 of the
third to make it 3-0 Halifax. Shots in the third were 11-7 Moose. Saint John’s
offense was a no show in this one.

HALIFAX – The Saint John Sea Dogs are back in action
tonight as they make their first visit to the Halifax Metro Centre this season.

The Sea Dogs sit fourth in the Telus Maritimes Division
and 12th overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with a
5-3-0-1 record. The Sea Dogs and Rimouski Oceanic are the only teams in the
league who have played less than 10 games heading into today’s action.

Saint John is 2-3-0-0 on the road but are coming off yet
another come-from-behind victory. On Sunday in Bathurst, the Sea Dogs overcame
an early 2-0 deficit to defeat the Titan 5-4 in a shootout. Although the Sea
Dogs are hovering near the .500 mark, they have been very entertaining and have
kept most of their games close this season. Hopefully that can continue tonight
in the Big City.

The Sea Dogs have been getting scoring from a lot of
different people so far. Defenseman Michael Abbott leads Saint John in scoring
with four goals and six assists for 10 points. Stephen Anderson and Oliver
Cooper each have eight points.

Goaltender Sebastien Auger should get the start today. He
has the second best goals against average in the league (2.15) and the best
save percentage (0.942).

Meanwhile, the defending Memorial Cup champions enter
action today with a 6-6-0-0 record and sit third in the Maritimes Division and
11th overall. They are just one point ahead of the Sea Dogs in the
standings and have played three more games.

Andrew Ryan leads the Moose in scoring with six goals and
five assists for 11 points in 12 games. Rookie Nikolaj Ehlers is second on the
team in points with nine.

This is the first of a tough couple games for the Sea
Dogs this weekend. Tomorrow afternoon they host the top team in the Maritimes,
the Charlottetown Islanders, at 3pm.

Friday, October 11, 2013

A challenging couple of games are ahead for the Saint
John Sea Dogs this weekend.

On Saturday, the Sea Dogs make their first trip of the
year to Halifax to take on the defending Memorial Cup Champion Mooseheads at
7pm. The Mooseheads lineup has recently been improved with the returns of
Jonathan Drouin and Darcy Ashley.

Halifax has a 6-5-0-0 record and host the top team in the
league tonight – the 9-0 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada – at the Metro Centre.
The Sea Dogs sit one point back of the Moose with a 5-3-0-1 record.

This will be the second meeting of the season between the
Dogs and Moose. Saint John defeated Halifax 4-2 on October 1st at
Harbour Station.

On Sunday, the Sea Dogs return home to host the top team
in the Maritimes Division – the 7-1-0-1 Charlottetown Islanders – at 3pm. The Sea Dogs are 0-1-0-1 against the Isles this season.

Saint John is off to a fairly solid start and almost all of
their games have proven to be quite entertaining so far. If you haven’t seen
this team in action, you should probably do that some time.

Some other notes:

Sunday’s home game against the Islanders is the first of
four straight home matches for Saint John. They also host the Moncton Wildcats
(Oct. 16), Quebec Remparts (Oct. 19), and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens (Oct. 20).

The Sea Dogs are a solid 3-0-0-1 on Harbour Station ice
this season. They outscoring opponents 12-7 at home.

Nathan Noel currently sits sixth overall in QMJHL rookie
scoring with seven points (five goals and two assists) in nine games. His five
goals tie him for third in rookie goal scoring with Charlottetown’s Daniel
Sprong and Halifax’s Nikolaj Ehlers.

Michael Abbott sits third in defenseman scoring with 10
points (four goals and six assists) in eight games. Abbott also leads all
defenseman in power play goals with four and sits second in power play points
with seven.

The Sea Dogs have had only eight fights this season, the
fourth lowest total in the QMJHL. Lukas Walter leads the team with two but has
not had a fight since September 22nd. All this according to
HockeyFights.com.

The Armada are off to the best start in the Canadian
Hockey League. Former Sea Dogs forward Ryan Tesink is third on the team in
scoring with two goals and seven assists for nine points in seven games.

At the opposite end of the QMJHL standings sit the poor Shawinigan Cataractes who, entering tonight's contest against Victoriaville, are still winless with a 0-7-2-0 record.

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Steven Duda has three assists,
a +1 rating, and eight penalty minutes in nine games with the Ontario Hockey
League’s North Bay Battalion. He had six assists in 52 games with Saint John
last season. North Bay sits first in the OHL’s Central Division with a 5-4-0-0
record.